"I had an interview...": Barry Ferguson leaves Rangers door ajar and shares verdict on Danny Röhl
Former Rangers interim boss Barry Ferguson has refused to close the door on a return to Ibrox.
Rangers favourite Barry Ferguson says he will “always” be available to help the Ibrox club whenever they need him, despite being turned down for the role as manager in the summer.
The 47-year-old former Rangers captain was handed the reins at Ibrox on an interim basis last season following the dismissal of Belgian head coach Philippe Clement, winning six of his 15 games in charge, but wasn’t offered the role on a permanent basis by the club’s new American owners in the summer, with Russell Martin chosen as the club’s new boss in July.
Sacked after just 123 days in the role, Martin was dismissed from his role after winning just one of his opening eight league games, leading to Ferguson being listed amongst the bookies' favourites as a candidate for the vacant manager’s role this month.
Following a two-week search for Martin’s successor, it was 36-year-old former Sheffield Wednesday head coach Danny Röhl who was appointed as the club’s new boss, and Ferguson says he is fully behind the German and hopes he can restore Rangers to their former glories in the weeks and months to come.
“The club [Rangers] has got a lot of traditions and a lot of standards,” said Ferguson. “He [Röhl] did speak about that. It was interesting to hear that. He's obviously looked into it before taking the job. Rangers fans like people who buy into the traditions of the club. I'm sure that's in his thought process. Hopefully we'll see these sorts of standards set in pretty quickly. But I’m like everybody else, I'll get right behind him.
“Whoever is the Rangers manager you want them to be successful and winning games. I'll get fully behind them like every Rangers fan will. He won't have a lot of time to work with the team. But I've looked a lot into him, he's got brilliant experience. He's been at Bayern Munich. He's been at [RB] Leipzig. He's been the German national team’s assistant manager, and he took the opportunity to become a manager a couple of years ago at Sheffield Wednesday and did pretty well there. I'm just looking forward to it and I hope he settles in and starts to get results. The way that he'll get everybody behind him, especially the fans, is by winning games of football. It's really that simple.”
Discussing his own aspirations of becoming a manager again, Ferguson says he wasn’t actively looking to get back into football management, but admitted he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to represent Rangers in the dugout, while confirming that he spoke to the Rangers hierarchy about taking the job on a permanent basis in the summer following his three-month spell in interim charge in Govan.
“I had an interview and I never got the job at the end of the season,” Ferguson told Gambling.com. “I just drew a line under that - that's where I'm at. I'm not bitter - Rangers are my club. I'm back in my old role as an ambassador. So I'm really comfortable and at peace with the whole situation. Look, if the call came [to become Rangers manager again] and they needed help, I would always help my club. There is no doubt.
“But I'm back enjoying my role as an ambassador. The only thing I'm looking for is Rangers to start being successful again and start getting wins. That's what I'm looking for. My mindset was I didn't want to go back in [to club management]. I didn't enjoy my last job [at Alloa Athletic] and I was happy at Rangers as an ambassador - I actually love that role. I do a bit of media, I've got my column and I do a bit of radio work. I was really settled and enjoying myself.
“Obviously I got a phone call, and it all changed in a heartbeat. I loved my three months in charge. There were a few bumps, but there were also some fantastic times as well. It's difficult when you come in towards the end of the season, with three months to go, and the team is used to playing a certain way. Would I want to become a manager again? It's probably the only job I would have stepped back in for, if I'm brutally honest.
“I was really at ease and at peace with what I was doing [as club ambassador]. I was really enjoying it. But listen, I couldn't have not come back. To be honest with you, it was probably the best three months in my life, even if we had a few rocky results. But I knew and expected that to happen.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.